Members of Team Toyota Cebu (from left) Jette Calderon, Sean Velsaco, Lord Seno and Oscar Suarez gather during the press conference for the Vios Cup Cebu leg at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel.
CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO
CEBU CITY is set to host one of the biggest motorsports events in the country as the second race of the 2015 Vios Cup takes its adrenaline-pumping action to the Queen City of the South on May 16 and 17 at the South Road Properties (SRP).
This marks the first time that Cebu City will be hosting a circuit race that is sanctioned by the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP) and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the world’s governing body for motorsports.
The event is spearheaded by Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) with the help of the Office of the Cebu City Mayor, SRP administration, the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Toyota Cebu-Mandaue South.
Race organizer and Toyota Racing School head instructor JP Tuason said the reason they decided to bring the race to Cebu is to be able to give the many motorsports fans in the Visayas a chance to witness world-class racing.
“Hopefully we can do this annually,” said Tuason in a press launch of the event Wednesday at the Tokyo Room of the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.
The Vios Cup is a one-make series featuring Toyota’s best-selling vehicle in the Philippines, the Vios subcompact sedan. This means all participants will be racing with race-ready Vios sedans.
The race is part of Toyota’s commitment to advance motorsports in the country.
“Committed to this grassroots racing program, this race develops basic motorsports knowledge and hones racing skills of Filipinos,” said TMP’s first vice president for marketing Raymond Rodriguez. “We, at Toyota, believe that motorsports is not only for the affluent motoring enthusiast but a sport that is for anyone to appreciate and enjoy.”
CELEBRITIES RACING
A highlight of the event will be the celebrities who will be joining the race. Among the noted celebrities expected to join are Derek Ramsey, Dominic Ochoa, DJ Sam YG, Kylie Padilla, Jasmine Curtis and Phoemela Barranda.
Cebu will also be well represented.
Team Toyota Cebu will be led by veteran racer Lord Seno and rising racer and multi-awarded karter Jette Calderon. They will be joined by Harold Ong, Oscar Suarez and Sean Velasco.
Other Cebuanos joining are Sherwin Hing and Daniel Miranda but they will be in different teams.
Aside from racing, the two-day event will also feature other activities such as drift exhibition by Japanese Keiichi Tsuchiya, “shotgun rides” for lucky guests, and a performance by DJ Mars Miranda.
Qualifying time trials will be held on Saturday (May 16), while race day and other sidelight activities will be on Sunday (May 17). The event is open to the public and admission is for free.
The first leg of the series was held at the Clark International Speedway last March 20 and 21. After Cebu, the series shifts back to Manila on Sept. 26 and 27 while the last leg returns to Clark on Nov. 6 and 7.